Athlete Journal: Terry Hadlow, Entry 7 - 12/2/2013

EDITOR'S NOTE: Welcome to the athlete journal of Terry Hadlow. Terry got started in Olympic weightlifting in 1970 and is the only Canadian to have competed in senior nationals in five different decades - 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s. Follow Terry's journal here to learn about his approach to training and competing.

Athlete Journal Entry 7 - 12/2/2013

This week marked the beginning of the next four-week phase. I’ve decided to keep the rotation of work the same as the last phase. My recovery between days has been going well, and I figure if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.

Monday: Snatch Day

The only problem I had on Monday was my hesitation in doing full squat snatches. My brain is always the stumbling block. The fear of a setback kept me from adding full snatches into the usual rotation, even though my shoulders were much better than in the first four weeks. I started the first day off similar to the last day of the same type of work, just like in the previous phase.

Speed snatch: 40x2x6, 50x2x6

Power snatch hang with two second hold: 50x2x6, 60x2x6 - these were performed with room to spare, which is encouraging since I’m working from a dead start. This means no front squats the day before to charge my nervous system.

Power snatch from the floor: 60x2x6, 70x2x6. I thought about doing some full snatch but backed off because my groin was a little cranky. No need to push it this early.

Tuesday: Shoulders and Back Day

The circuit of press, incline press, narrow pull downs, and curls is adjusted this phase by adding behind the neck press, which I alternate with the military press at the beginning of the circuit. I have always been a strong behind neck presser, so the weights I use will be the same for both. This week I did four circuits of six reps each exercise except for the curls, which were ten reps.

Wednesday: Back Squats

I was a little leery because on Monday my groin was tender and back squats really cause the groin to flare up. I did a long, strenuous warm up to see if the tender area would become a factor. I gave myself the green light and quickly got to 105kg. There was a little discomfort but I moved up to 120kg regardless. The first few sets of six reps went well, but on the third set a major pinch hit on the fourth rep, about three-quarters of the way up, which put me on edge. I tackled the fourth set but made sure the groin area was as relaxed as possible under the circumstances. The set went well, but I’m getting the message. No speed squats or stop squats.

Thursday: Clean and Jerk

The next workout was clean and jerks, with mostly cleans on the itinerary. During the warm up my groin was not nearly as sore as the day before, which was very encouraging.

Speed clean: 602x6, 702x6

Power clean from the hang: 70x2x6, 80x2x6

Power cleans from the floor: 80x2x6, 90x2x6

With time left in the workout, because my fitness was letting me move faster, I attempted some full clean and jerks. I got to 100kg and did four sets of one clean and one jerk. They were a little rough because the coordination of movements was a little off, but with practice that will get better.

Friday: Circuit Day

The first circuit of every phase is forty minutes long. As expected, the workout was a struggle, but better than any I’ve done so far.

Saturday

I took today off because there was no time in my day.

Sunday: Front Squat

I always look forward to front squats. This day tells me how far I’ve come or how far I’ve got to go. The program calls for 90kg for sets of seven, five, and three stop squats done twice for a total of thirty reps. I got through the workout in 25 minutes, with the last three stop squats done easily and with no real groin issues. Still I was a little cautious so I decided to forgo the speeds and stop squats.

Next week will be interesting. The weights will move up in intensity and there will be more pressure on me to get in the extra work done in the same time frame.